Archive
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Appeal follows crash death
A WOMAN has died in hospital following a road accident last Wednesday. The incident happened at 7.30am, on the A66 west-bound, near the Longnewton and Teesside airport junction. A BMW veered off the main road on a sweeping right hand bend, and a motorist
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Call for unions to help solve teacher crisis
A COUNCIL has issued a "let's work together" plea to teaching unions to resolve a dispute over classroom shortages. Middlesbrough Borough Council is facing up to the possibility of industrial action from members of the NASUWT union over teaching shortages
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Probation for woman in benefit fraud
A MOTHER who struggled to bring up her child and care for her sick father claimed £3,992 in false benefits, a court heard. Single mother Jill Franklin, 27, of Holly Hill, Shildon, continued to claim social security despite getting a job as a factory packer
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In tune with e-business
Princess Anne showed she was up to speed with internet industry when she spoke to the boss of an e-commerce company in Spennymoor, County Durham. She left Simon Cohen's DGC Distribution with a top-of-the-range Guvnor acoustic guitar presented by the company's
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Panel puts green sites under scrutiny
A MORE streamlined approach will be taken to maintaining green sites after a report found weaknesses in the system. An Environment Scrutiny Panel was asked to come up with strengths and weaknesses of Middlesbrough Borough Council's green budget, which
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Crucial win for Bennett's boys
DARLINGTON won their first game of the year thanks to a battling performance against Cheltenham at Feethams last night. Quakers were a considerable improvement on their recent dismal performances although they had to rely on an own goal from Cheltenham
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Bowls pair's crash death was unlawful
THE deaths of two women on the A19 last year on their way to a bowls match were caused by unlawful killing, a coroner decided yesterday. The lorry driver involved in the accident, Paul Simpson, 30, of the The Avenue, Seaham, east Durham, must now wait
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Housing bonanza as loan rates cut
THOUSANDS of homeowners across the North-East will be shopping for cheaper mortgages after Britain's two biggest mortgage lenders slashed their rates and sparked a price war yesterday. Nationwide building society started the battle by cutting its standard
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Halifax reveals 8% rise in profits
BRITAIN'S biggest mortgage bank, the Halifax, has revealed an eight per cent rise in pre-tax profits, despite severe losses experienced at its Internet banking arm. The former building society, turned bank, posted full year profits of £1.89bn, before
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Appeal follows crash death
A WOMAN has died in hospital following a road accident last Wednesday. The incident happened at 7.30am, on the A66 west-bound, near the Longnewton and Teesside airport junction. A BMW veered off the main road on a sweeping right hand bend, and a motorist
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Cup overflows for real ale fans
A FESTIVAL for beer lovers takes place in Teesside later this week. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the Cleveland Campaign for Real Ale Beer Festival will take place at the Arc, in Stockton. Forty real ales will be available, mostly from Yorkshire and
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Lecturers end protest action
UNIVERSITY lecturers have called off industrial action after it emerged that job cuts will not be forced on staff. Instead, Northumbria University has said that savings of £3.6m will be made through voluntary redundancies and leaving vacancies open. About
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Dealer and lover receive prison terms
A drug dealer who told his lover to hide crack cocaine and heroin in her underwear, when they were stopped by police, has been jailed for four years. A judge at Teesside Crown Court also ordered the forfeiture of the borrowed BMW car that 40-year-old
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Jury told of police dog's attack
A MAN is claiming damages after being attacked by a police dog and then punched and kicked by police officers, a court heard yesterday. Lawrence Andrew Agar, 35, alleged he was attacked, falsely imprisoned and brought before magistrates on charges of
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Group searches for families who want glimpse of future
TWO families are being given the chance to live like the Jetsons in a home of the future. Work starts next month to build the futuristic homes in Roscoe Road, Billingham, Cleveland. The homes, which will be built to a modern design, will aim to provide
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Fears for safety of pensioners forces home move
PENSIONERS at a residential home are being forced to move because the council property has been deemed unsafe. The 33 residents at Syke House, in Burnopfield, will leave in the coming days after the council's Health and Safety officers found that fire
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Northern firms reluctant to get a stake in e-commerce
THE North is in danger of lagging behind in the e-commerce revolution because companies feel their products are inappropriate for the Web, according to business advisor Grant Thornton. The findings of Grant Thornton's ninth European Business Survey show
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Nursery wins choice award
NURSERY children with a taste for good food have become some the youngest winners of an award. Staff at the Bishop Auckland Nursery Centre have won Investing in Children status for the way they guide their young clients to make up their own minds. The
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Woman faces ban over dog's suffering
MAGISTRATES banned a woman from keeping animals for three years yesterday after an untreated injury meant her dog's eye had to be removed. Sybil Smith, 46, of Adamson Street, Shildon, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to causing unnecessary suffering
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Plea over twinning
ENTERTAINMENT groups have been invited to help celebrate the 20th anniversary of an East Durham town's twinning link. For two decades Peterlee and the German town of Nordenham have visited each others community every year. This year is not only the 20th
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Cup overflows for real ale fans
A FESTIVAL for beer lovers takes place in Teesside later this week. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the Cleveland Campaign for Real Ale Beer Festival will take place at the Arc, in Stockton. Forty real ales will be available, mostly from Yorkshire and
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Investigation into woman's railway death
POLICE are attempting to piece together the last moments of a Darlington woman who was killed by a train. The body of Vera Ann Watson, 37, was found on the north- bound line, yards away from the platform at Darlington railway station. She was hit by a
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Murdered playboy's mystery lunch guest traced
POLICE have traced a man who may have been one of the last people to see murdered drugs tycoon Peter Beaumont-Gowling alive. The man had lunch with the 52-year-old playboy about ten hours before his body was found at his flat in Osborne Road, Jesmond,
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Toy libraries initiative 'will have major impact'
AN Aladdin's cave of games will open up to children with the creation of a series of toy libraries. The Government yesterday unveiled a £6m scheme to establish 150 toy libraries for children in deprived areas, providing them with £40,000 each to spend
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Dozens of charities get windfall
DOZENS of worthy causes in the North-East have benefited from thousands of pounds in grants awarded by a charity. Christ's Hospital, in Sherburn, County Durham, also known as Sherburn Hospital and Sherburn House Charity, announced grants of £1.2m in its
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Job Search 2001
MORE details about the jobs below are available from the Employment Service Direct on (0845) 606 0234. Creative joiner, Brompton-on-Swale. 40hrspw, 8.30am to 5pm, Mon-Fri. Required to build horse boxes, motor homes and caravans. Must be creative and imaginative
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Job Search 2001
MORE details about the jobs below are available from the Employment Service Direct on (0845) 606 0234. Security guard, Durham. £3.70ph, 56hrs pw. Required for office building. Must have own transport, able to be contacted at short notice and provide ten-year
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£9m boost likely for dockland project
AN extra £9m is likely to be put towards a key regeneration project in the North-East. At a meeting of Middlesbrough Borough Council's cabinet today, the money is expected to be earmarked for the Middlehaven regeneration project. The scheme, considered
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Youngsters are jumping for joy after skate park victory
Youngsters are celebrating victory after their successful campaign for a skate park. Enthusiasts in Pickering, Kirkbymoorside and Thornton-le-Dale have long been calling for facilities to use skateboards, in-line skates and roller skates. Now they have
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Reprieve for historic pub but brewery may lodge an appeal
RESIDENTS are celebrating after "people power" saved an historic pub from demolition. The Ladle, in Ladgate Lane, Middlesbrough, had been earmarked to be flattened after Whitbread asked permission to replace it with a modern pub, hotel and drive-through
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Friends raise cash and provide new world of fun for youngsters
DISABLED children can enjoy a new multi-sensory world, thanks to a donation from a Teesside charity. The Friends of Hartburn Lodge have raised £32,000 to equip a multi-sensory centre to stimulate youngsters with a variety of disabilities. The lodge, which
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Project to provide youngsters in care with say about future
RADIO DJs will help to put some spin on the launch of a project giving young people in care more of a say over their future. Social services officials in County Durham believe the new Looked After Networks (LANs) will provide the necessary support to
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Show goes on despite players' switch
A DRAMA group have vowed that the show will go on, despite having to move to a temporary new home. Sedgefield Players, who are rehearsing for their first play of the year, were among several organisations in the village affected by a fire at Hardwick
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Pleading the case for the farmers
AS A country parson for 13 years, I got to know farmers well. Very down-to-earth sorts they are too. I recall a rather delicate individual complaining to a farmer's wife after the annual agricultural show dinner that, in his speech, her husband had made
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Keeping up with the Smiths
ST Valentine's Day: a solitary two-course lunch consumes just 12 minutes in the caf at Darlington Covered Market. Romance may not be in the air, but there's plenty of tobacco smoke. Music, food of love, appears to be Radio 2 with mufflers on. Vegetable
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Water problems mount for "unlucky" Murton
YOU know that damn great crater in the middle of Murton FC's pitch, so rapidly filling with water that when last mentioned hereabouts it was reckoned akin to Lake Winnipeg? You know how there's never been a wetter winter since Noah decided to make alternative
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Shortage of volunteers forces end of carnival after 25 years
A charity carnival has been forced to pack up after a plea for more volunteers proved unsuccessful. Organisers of Northallerton charity carnival confirmed yesterday that the annual event has folded after 25 years. The carnival committee launched an appeal
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Not the time for losing our heads
IT is good that Lord Irvine, the Lord Chancellor, will personally answer a question in the House of Lords today about his role in the "cash for wigs" affair. Characterised as being aloof and arrogant, he could easily have sent one of his minions to face
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Students can provide tonic at hospital
A WOMEN'S charity is offering young people the chance to help their community as part of National Students' Week, which runs until Saturday. The Women's Royal Voluntary Service (WRVS) is urging Middlesbrough teenagers to join its regular volunteers at
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Firm boost for woodland project
A VILLAGE'S woodland project has been given a boost due to the recycling efforts of a telephone directory firm. People at Lanchester are planting Dora's Wood in honour of local 19th Century poetess and author Dora Greenwell. The project is one of 12 schemes
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Cultural display of arts and music
ARTS and music lovers are being invited to take part on a journey of discovery when east Durham stages its own cultural odyssey. As the culmination to a year of preparation, artists from the region will present a display of performing, visual and spoken
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Lucky 13 for promotion-chasing Hartlepool
HARTLEPOOL United kept up the heat at the top of the table with a thumping win over Torquay as they made it lucky 13 at Victoria Park last night. The 3-1 triumph, thanks to strikes from Kevin Henderson, Lee Fitzpatrick and Craig Midgley, made it 13 Division
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Girls in school reunion date for 1951 class
THE CLASS of 1951 at a girls' school are invited to a day of nostalgia, in a golden jubilee reunion later this year. Members of the year group which started at Durham Girls' Grammar School - now the Sixth Form Centre - in Providence Row, in September
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Tapping in to our treasure with £100,000 museum boost
THE campaign to preserve the North-East's disappearing railway heritage received a much-needed shot in the arm last night, when a local authority pledged £100,000 to promote the region's industrial history. Darlington Borough Council agreed to make the
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Souness in no mood for Duff deal with Magpies
GRAEME Souness has warned Newcastle to keep their hands off Blackburn midfielder Damien Duff. Toon boss Bobby Robson is a big admirer of the Irish international and was even prepared to throw in Scottish winger Stephen Glass as a £1m makeweight in a proposed
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Carbury Cross is latest star from in-form Jonjo stable
JONJO O'NEILL'S stable has been in superb form all season, a point nicely illustrated when he unleashed yet another potential star in the shape of Carbury Cross at Musselburgh late last month. Today Carbury Cross (2.30) reappears at Doncaster in the Minnow
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Jobless will have a better deal in store
TRAINING agencies across the region have joined forces to make sure local people get the chance to work at a multi-million pound supermarket development on Tyneside. The new Morrisons supermarket in Jarrow, South Tyneside, intends to employ up to 350
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Murray wins but no double
Darlington's Keith Murray got his time trial season off to a winning start but was denied a weekend double. Murray, who has finished second to Stuart Wearmouth in the North Eastern CCA cyclo-cross league during the winter season just ended, switched to
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Electrolux gains Investors in People training award
ELECTROLUX Outdoor Products has been awarded with the Investors in People standard for its employee development programme. The announcement comes as hundreds of Electrolux workers in County Durham, at plants in Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor, are waiting
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Job Searxh 2001
MORE details about the jobs below are available from the Employment Service Direct on (0845) 606 0234. Powder coater, Shildon, £5 to £5.50ph, 40hrs pw Mon-Fri, must be experienced in all aspects of powder coating, current clean driving licence is essential
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School head cleared
A CONVICTED thief who lied on an application form to land a headteacher's post has had the case against him thrown out of court. But George Bowery, 47, was fined £400 after he admitted buying a forged MOT document from a school caretaker for his policewoman
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Schmeichel hands gloves to Sorensen
SUNDERLAND goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen is set to take over the reins from Danish legend Peter Schmeichel, who yesterday announced his retirement from international football. Sorensen, 24, is likely to get his first call-up as Denmark's new number-one in
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Shop owner wins payout over police treatment
POLICE have paid businesswoman Sheila Biswas £10,000 after she was brutally manhandled by an officer following a row over a Twix. Mrs Biswas, a mother of one, cleared her name after a three-year battle, but said the trauma had forced her to sell up and
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Nurse denies catalogue of complaints
A NURSE in a North-East residential home denied a catalogue of complaints against her at a disciplinary hearing yesterday. Jacqueline Louise Yates slept while on duty, swore when referring to patients, and said walking up stairs would do an arthritic
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Deal reached over sale of council homes
THE entire housing stock of a North-East council is to leave local authority control after a £480m deal. The non-profit making Sunderland Housing Group has accepted backing from The Royal Bank of Canada and ABM-AMRO consortium, which will enable it to
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Duo laughed after attack
A MAN was punched and kicked in a cowardly and unprovoked attack by two drunks, a court heard. Darren Parker, 29, and Paul Neale, 20, assaulted the Asian as he sat on a bench. Closedcircuit television recorded them leaving the scene laughing, Teesside
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Learning targets raised
PUPILS will be urged to attain higher education standards in Darlington as part of attainment proposals. In the next two years, Darlington Borough Council will aim for 80 per cent of children at Key Stage Two to reach level four or above in English tests
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Bookshop's cellar turned into a lake
A FLOODED cellar beneath a Teesdale bookshop had to be pumped clear for several hours yesterday after water began to leak on to the pavement. More than 500 gallons of rainwater had to be pumped from the cellar below Curlews Books, in Horsemarket, Barnard
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Young criminals 'get high' on life inside
SOME young criminals appear to get high on the hardship of life in young offenders' institutions, claims a new report from psychologists. The experts who carried out the research warned that such youngsters, who thrive on stress, would be difficult to
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Chance to relax
A series of relexation sessions are being held at Chester-le-Street Community Centre. Starting on Wednesday, February 28, with a two-hour session on stress, personal colour and style, consultant Yvonne Frost will also teach Salsa, aromatherapy, and other
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Building with proud history
THE Ladle traces its history back to one of Middlesbrough's most famous sons. Carl Ferdinand Henry Bolckow inherited the then Brackenhoe Hall from his uncle Henry, the town's first mayor. Henry Bolckow had made his name in iron and steel, and went on
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Rivals fit for fight with new £3m gym
HEALTH and fitness club operators in the North-East have come out fighting ahead of a major new arrival which will soon be flexing its pecs in the region. Bannatyne's new £3m fitness centre, promising the latest facilities, is due to open in Haughton
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Law Lords may decide quarry row
A LONG-RUNNING legal battle over resumption of mining activities at a dormant quarry in Durham could end up in the House of Lords. Leave is being sought from the Law Lords to appeal against an Appeal Court ruling last year, which effectively blocked resumption
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Dealer and lover receive prison terms
A drug dealer who told his lover to hide crack cocaine and heroin in her underwear when they were stopped by police has been jailed for four years. A judge at Teesside Crown Court also ordered the forfeiture of the borrowed BMW car that 40-year-old Islam
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Letters
MIDDLESBROUGH DOCK I refer to the article about the removal and replacement of the dock gates at Middlesbrough Dock (Echo, Jan 17). The headline about "unleashing a flood of prosperity" should possibly follow with a question concerning who the recipients
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Appeal for old photographs of town park
FOND memories of a Teesside park are being sought as part of a £1.3m heritage lottery bid for refurbishment. Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council wants to put a pictorial history of Locke Park, in Redcar, together in its bid document, and is appealing
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Bus travel concessions unveiled
NEW options for concessionary travel fares will be set out by Darlington Borough Council today. Councillors are expected to approve plans for a half-fare travel concessions scheme at a cabinet meeting this afternoon. The council estimates that the scheme
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Many hands make light work of nursery garden
A NURSERY school has a new garden after a team of volunteers worked all weekend to transform the grounds. Bessemer Park Nursery School, in Spennymoor, approached Darlington Rotaract Club for help after an Office for Standards in Education report recommended
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Occupational therapy switch
A NEW occupational therapy service could soon be set up in Darlington. The borough council's plans to streamline the service, provided by several organisations, will cut waiting times. Darlington Borough Council's cabinet is expected to refer the proposals
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Outcry over Prince's day with hunt
PRINCE William enjoyed a day's fox hunting in North Yorkshire over the weekend, with no protestors in sight. Arrangements were kept quiet so that the 18-year-old Prince could enjoy his day with the Bedale Hunt at Danby Wiske, near Northallerton, and Langton
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Looking into exhibition of glass
AN exhibition of glassworks starts this weekend at the Saltburn Artists Studios. The exhibition of kiln- formed glassworks has been put together by Effie Burns, a 3D design graduate from Sunderland University. Effie has worked on a series of residences
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Volunteers join forces to revamp Mind garden
VOLUNTEERS have worked hard to revamp the garden of Mind in Darlington as part of their Prince's Trust Volunteer Programme team challenge. As well as resourcing materials and funds locally, the group was one of many organisations to take advantage of
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Job Search 2001
Commercial vehicle painter, Billingham. £5.50 to £6.50ph dep on exp, 40hrs pw. Must have at least two years' experience. Ref: BIG 11016. Community development worker, Billingham. £18,372pa, full-time. Must have experience in community development, IT
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Developer protests at snub over leisure complex scheme
A DEVELOPER has expressed disappointment that its rival is likely to get approval for a multi-million pound leisure complex in Darlington. Tomorrow, councillors will be recommended to approve a plan by Terrace Hill for a complex including a multiplex
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Raider locked up for 12 months
A BURGLAR, disturbed by the householder's son during a domestic break-in, was pointed out by a neighbour when police reached the scene minutes later. Christopher Williams, 19, was arrested near the house, in Queen's Park, Chester-le-Street, County Durham
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Tickets prove tempting for The Tempest
BRITAIN'S leading theatre company will be playing to sell-out audiences when it visits Northallerton next month. Every ticket for the Royal Shakespeare Company's (RSC) production of The Tempest was snapped up by the beginning of the month. Reserve lists
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Turning up the heat on the Cold War
PERHAPS you remember the TV pictures? Though I've seen no mention of it, next Sunday brings the tenth anniversary of an event that symbolised the end of the Cold War. No, not the breaching of the Berlin Wall, which happened on November 9, 1989. Fifteen
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Cash image was stored on website
A MAN produced copies of an image of a £10 note, downloaded from a computer website devoted to pop star Britney Spears, a court was told. Police executing a warrant, recovered 15 counterfeit notes hidden in a sunbed at the home of Jason Young, 24, in
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The girl who gave thugs a surprise
A GANG of trouble-making teenage boys picked on the wrong person when they ran into young Heidi Rogan. The 14-year-old was surrounded by the teenagers while walking through an underpass in Darlington. They refused to let her pass and one of them even
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Will you ever leave home again?
THE police deputy commissioner strode from behind his desk incensed with the action of the expatriate manager. "How dare you speak to a woman who is not your wife," he spat, a split second before punching him in the face. The blow lifted the Filipino
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Can't take off - a pilot's missing
PASSENGERS flying from Teesside Airport faced the usual frustration when their flight was delayed. But their frustrations quickly turned to disbelief after it was revealed they had been grounded by of all things - a missing pilot. The passengers of the
